Seven Falls erosion repairs could take 4 months, $213K more

Published: Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 7:41 p.m.

The county took another step Wednesday toward fixing erosion issues at the idled Seven Falls subdivision in Etowah, holding a meeting with a dozen potential contractors who could bid on a site stabilization project to halt further damage to crumbling roads and slopes there.

Most likely, it will be fall before contractors fully seed eroding land at Seven Falls with grass and finish work to re-grade roads, clean out clogged sediment basins and install new silt traps and fences, said engineer and consultant William G. Lapsley.

The county is giving whoever wins the bid 120 days to get most of the work complete, Lapsley told contractors at a required pre-bid meeting in the Historic Courthouse. If commissioners approve a bid winner July 17, as expected, that gives the chosen contractor until mid-November to meet that deadline.

“Our experience has been as long as you get (grass) planted by Oct. 15, you’ll get a good stand of grass,” Lapsley said. “If you don’t plant grass until early November, it’s not going to happen.”

Lapsley said if work starts Aug. 1, as hoped, the contractor who wins the project should be able to get grass sprouting by September or October, weather permitting. He added that “most of the washouts are within the confines of the roadways,” so re-grading and seeding those roads with grass will stop much of the erosion.

However, county attorneys will have to get a Superior Court judge to approve more money to fund the project. Lapsley told contractors Wednesday he estimates the project will cost roughly $475,000, about $213,000 more than Judge Zoro J. Guice approved the county to spend out of roughly $6 million in bond proceeds.

Guice ruled May 6 that Henderson County could use up to $262,000 in bond proceeds to perform remediation work at the defunct golfing community. But his order requires the county to return to court July 15 if expenses exceed that amount.

County Attorney Russ Burrell said Wednesday the original estimate was off because Lapsley had not been able to walk the entire property and verify conditions on the ground by the time of the May court hearing. Lapsley said his initial estimate was based on earlier surveys.

In walking the property, Lapsley uncovered some new issues, he and Burrell said. Two cul-de-sacs graded by the subdivision’s original contractors didn’t match the platted right-of-way, they said, and 200 feet of the property’s entrance road was west of its recorded location. All of that must be re-graded, Lapsley said.

Additionally, the stabilization project requires the bid winner to build 34 new sediment traps; construct over a mile of rip-rapped ditch; create almost 2 miles of grassed drainage ditch; and seed/mulch 14,400 square yards of slope and 22,720 square yards of road, among other work.

Burrell said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the county to perform the stabilization work, as long as contractors stay away from roughly eight stream crossings on the property. The N.C. Division of Land Quality is also requiring the county to submit an erosion and sedimentation control plan for the project.

<p>The county took another step Wednesday toward fixing erosion issues at the idled Seven Falls subdivision in Etowah, holding a meeting with a dozen potential contractors who could bid on a site stabilization project to halt further damage to crumbling roads and slopes there.</p><p>Most likely, it will be fall before contractors fully seed eroding land at Seven Falls with grass and finish work to re-grade roads, clean out clogged sediment basins and install new silt traps and fences, said engineer and consultant William G. Lapsley.</p><p>The county is giving whoever wins the bid 120 days to get most of the work complete, Lapsley told contractors at a required pre-bid meeting in the Historic Courthouse. If commissioners approve a bid winner July 17, as expected, that gives the chosen contractor until mid-November to meet that deadline.</p><p>“Our experience has been as long as you get (grass) planted by Oct. 15, you'll get a good stand of grass,” Lapsley said. “If you don't plant grass until early November, it's not going to happen.”</p><p>Lapsley said if work starts Aug. 1, as hoped, the contractor who wins the project should be able to get grass sprouting by September or October, weather permitting. He added that “most of the washouts are within the confines of the roadways,” so re-grading and seeding those roads with grass will stop much of the erosion.</p><p>However, county attorneys will have to get a Superior Court judge to approve more money to fund the project. Lapsley told contractors Wednesday he estimates the project will cost roughly $475,000, about $213,000 more than Judge Zoro J. Guice approved the county to spend out of roughly $6 million in bond proceeds.</p><p>Guice ruled May 6 that Henderson County could use up to $262,000 in bond proceeds to perform remediation work at the defunct golfing community. But his order requires the county to return to court July 15 if expenses exceed that amount. </p><p>County Attorney Russ Burrell said Wednesday the original estimate was off because Lapsley had not been able to walk the entire property and verify conditions on the ground by the time of the May court hearing. Lapsley said his initial estimate was based on earlier surveys. </p><p>In walking the property, Lapsley uncovered some new issues, he and Burrell said. Two cul-de-sacs graded by the subdivision's original contractors didn't match the platted right-of-way, they said, and 200 feet of the property's entrance road was west of its recorded location. All of that must be re-graded, Lapsley said.</p><p>Additionally, the stabilization project requires the bid winner to build 34 new sediment traps; construct over a mile of rip-rapped ditch; create almost 2 miles of grassed drainage ditch; and seed/mulch 14,400 square yards of slope and 22,720 square yards of road, among other work.</p><p>Burrell said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the county to perform the stabilization work, as long as contractors stay away from roughly eight stream crossings on the property. The N.C. Division of Land Quality is also requiring the county to submit an erosion and sedimentation control plan for the project. </p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>